Effects of oxygen tension on the establishment and lactate dehydrogenase activity of murine embryonic stem cells

Abstract

The lack of a standardized culture environment for establishment of embryonic stem cell lines has hindered the orchestrated differentiation of cells and the application of this technology. Oxygen concentration has a profound effect on proliferation and differentiation of many cell types. This study tested the hypothesis that establishment dynamics, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) isoforms, and mRNA expression patterns would be affected by the oxygen tension in the culture environment. Recovered (day 4) mutine blastocysts were cultured in a gas environment of 6% CO2 and either 20% or 5% O2 (balance supplemented with N2). More (p < 0.05) blastocysts produced outgrowths in the low (79.3 ± 0.1%) com..